Fly Fishing Tejon Ranch(Little Lake) 4/14/11. Did I mention a 12lb catfish on a 5wt!?

My buddy Jeremy and I went on a fantastic Fly Fishers Club of O.C. outing to the small Lake at Tejon Ranch. It was an adventure to say the least.
We got in EARLY in the am and were set up by 6am. I had a float tube that I bought several years ago and had never used. Yup, first time-I LOVED IT! J had a raft with troll motor and fish finder. I was on the water by 6:30 with my sites set on the tree strewn inlet of the lake.
I tossed brown weighted and unweighted buggers all day on my 5 wt.

I picked up my first fish-a fat slab bluegill that was very much fun! He was tight a submerged tree island.
I moved around picking up gills here and there. My most productive fishing in the am came from trolling my line behind me.

Nice colors…

I managed 4 or 5 small crappie too. The guys that I was there with from the club have been there many times and never caught craps. Jeremy also caught a slab crappie.

I did catch a few small bass too. This was my biggest
And another This killer fly was tied by my buddy Ben at Arizona Wanderings. You’ll see more of it in a moment.

The best part of the day came when I was trolling in a back area of the lake close to shore and against some partially submerged branches. I thought I snagged the tree, but the tree seemed to move. I knew this fish was big, but he was snagged on the branch so I wasn’t sure. Then, after much maneuvering, I freed him up and moved him (Yeah, he moved ME) to the middle away from any trees. This fish put a hurt on me I swear I will never forget. Fought him for 15-20 minutes and couldn’t move him. It was a stalemate.
My rod was doubled over and my hand was aching. Actually, it still hurts as I type! I could not believe how he could just move wherever and take line whenever he wanted to during the fight. After 10 min, we saw a tail thru the murky water and it was HUGE!

My rod was doubled over and my hand was aching.

Actually, it still hurts as I type! I could not believe how he could just move wherever and take line whenever he wanted to during the fight. After 10 min, we saw a tail thru the murky water and it was HUGE!

More club guys came by to see what all the raucous was about.

Jeremy managed to do a proper face plant into the drink when exiting his boat to try and net the kitty. Here he tries to recover his boat and his dignity! LOL!

After many failed attempts, the beast was netted and we all high fived and hooted n hollered.

A kiss 4 good luck!Recognize this fly?

We took measurements: 30” long, 14” girth ahead of the dorsal, and a 15” girth on the head! Weight charts put her at 12lbs. I guessed it was between 10-12. I believe it is a channel. Anybody know 4 sure?

We let this beast go, and I continued to cast to the trees for more gills and small bass.

Final tally at 4:30 :
15+ bluegill
4-5 bass
4-5 crappie
1 Catfish

The tube was surprisingly comfortable. I will be doing that again!

We saw a lot of wildlife including these mating toads, a (gopher) snake in the grass, a hopper hatch like none I have ever seen (Millions at the shoreline and surrounding grass), a rabbit, and tons of damsel flies. I caught this lil fellow crawling out on a stump, and put him in my fly back. Look carefully and you will see 2-3 old shed exoskeletons from other damsel fly nymphs that hatched off this log b4. The live one that I caught was either on the tip of the stump or lower center near my hand. They all look alive except one was walking!
20 minutes later, I had a damsel fly!

Gogher snake

Froggidy lovin’.

Jeremey did well fishing damsel fly poppers and nymphs for bass.
Cool cloud

I almost forgot, Lyman Kennedy, the guy who set up the trip caught a 4-5lb kitty. He dropped it b4 any pics were taken. They said it was the first time they had anyone in the club(let alone 2) catch a catfish on this outing.